The Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has ordered the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) not to conduct any political activities as efforts are ongoing to dissolve the party.
ECM issued a written directive to the party not to conduct any political activities in the name of the DRP and to complete the dissolution procedure as per the law. ECM stated that the party had not reached the 3,000 members required to operate a political party before the three-month deadline. ECM met with the DRP leadership to dissolve the party legally.
The current leader of the DRP is Parliamentarian Abdulla Jabir. DRP is one of the first registered parties in the country and was founded by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom. DRP split and members switched to other parties when the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) was formed due to differences of opinion in the party's leadership.
DRP has 2,681 members, according to the political party register. There are 11 political parties on the register, most of which have less than 10,000 members. The law states that 3,000 members are needed for a party to be included in the electoral register. Meanwhile, political parties with 10,000 members receive funds from the state budget.